Graham Norton’s ITV Gamble Hits Rough Patch with Slumping Ratings
Key Points
- Third-episode viewership fell to about 500,000 despite heavy promotion and prime scheduling.
- ITV removed The Neighbourhood early from ITVX, signalling diminished confidence.
- Norton remains a BBC heavyweight, with three more Graham Norton Show series confirmed.
GRAHAM Norton’s bold move from the BBC to ITV has hit a stumbling block as his new show The Neighbourhood struggles to find an audience.
Despite a hefty advertising push and a prime slot following the I’m A Celebrity All Stars final, the show’s ratings have plunged to just 500,000 by its third episode.
ITV had hoped to make Graham the new face of the channel, even hosting him at their 2026 Showcase event alongside stars like Gemma Arterton and Simon Cowell.
An insider revealed, “They threw everything at The Neighbourhood to make it a big success, but it’s ended up a bit of a damp squib.”
The show’s underperformance led ITV to quietly drop it from their catch-up service ITVX earlier than planned, signalling a loss of confidence.
Meanwhile, Graham remains a BBC heavyweight, with The Graham Norton Show confirmed for three more series starting this autumn.
He recently shared that longer breaks between filming have made him enjoy his chat show more, saying, “I’m not bored with it and then I kind of miss it because and I’ll be looking forward to coming back at the end of September.”
Though ITV’s gamble on Graham hasn’t paid off yet, his star power on the BBC remains solid as ever.
